Wednesday, September 13th, 2017 at 5:39pm

LAS CRUCES – The three-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion New Mexico State women’s basketball team announced its 2017-18 schedule that features 14 home games and 14 road matches with a matchup against a top PAC-12 team.

The Aggies welcome back eight players from the 2016-17 squad who led the team to a 24-7 record, which included a WAC regular season and tournament title as well as an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The 2017-18 schedule features two non-conference tournaments before the end of 2017. NM State kicks off the season at home against Western Michigan on Nov. 12, followed by UT Permian Basin on Nov. 14. Four days later, the Aggies hit the road to take on in-state rival, New Mexico, on Nov. 18.

“We have a really good schedule this season,” first-year head coach Brooke Atkinson said. “Our home schedule is great. We start the season at home with Western Michigan, who went to the WNIT last year after having a 19-game winning season and they had only one senior graduate. They’re a big athletic team. We’re at The Pit a few days later to play New Mexico. Coach [Mike] Bradbury does a really good job.”

The Aggies return to its home court Nov. 20 to take on Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the team heads east to El Paso for the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic where New Mexico State faces Texas Southern and Arkansas, which is “coached by Mike Neighbors,” Atkinson said. “Neighbors had great success at Washington and I know he’ll do well with that team.”

The Aggies take on New Mexico for the second time on Dec. 2 and Battle of I-10 rival, UTEP, on Dec. 10, both at home. New Mexico State then hits the road to make stops at Arizona on Dec. 14 and Pepperdine, Dec. 17. Right before the Christmas holiday, NMSU participates in the Long Beach Classic, Dec. 20 – 21, where the team squares off against Northeastern and a potential matchup against Long Beach State or Illinois State.

The Aggies remain home for a while when they host UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 29 and Western New Mexico on Dec. 31. Then, it’s on to WAC play hosting Chicago State (Jan. 6), Grand Canyon (Jan 11) and CSU Bakersfield (Jan. 13).

Conference action continues when NMSU hits the road to take on Seattle U, Jan. 18, and Utah Valley two days later on Jan. 20. To close out the month of January, the Aggies play host to UMKC Jan 27.

Life on the road becomes a norm in the month of February when New Mexico State heads to Texas to compete against UT Rio Grande Valley (Feb. 3), before heading west to play against CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 8) and Grand Canyon (Feb. 10). Then, the Aggies return home to host Utah Valley on Feb. 15 and Seattle U on Feb. 17. It’s not long before the team heads back on the road when NMSU travels to the Windy City and takes on Chicago State, Feb. 22, and Kansas City for its game against UMKC on Feb. 24.

To close out the regular season, the Aggies host UT Rio Grande Valley on March 3, before heading to Las Vegas for the WAC Tournament, beginning March 7.